This Sweet Potato Quinoa Veggie Burger with bold flavors of cumin, chili powder, and garlic will be a great addition to your food prep for the week, for topping Mexican-inspired salads, eating plain as a snack, and enjoying on toast with smashed avocado.
Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by NOW Foods as part of an ongoing partnership. I was compensated for my time, and all opinions are my own.
I love a good veggie burger. Since sharing my Green Chile Black Bean Burgers early last year, I’ve been experimenting with options beyond beans as well. Veggie burgers are a staple in my freezer for simple meals, and it’s nice to supplement my stash with some homemade options once in awhile.
This Sweet Potato Quinoa Veggie Burger I’m sharing today has been through many iterations as I’ve perfected the recipe for myself, and it’s about time I share it.
It all starts with a base of cooked quinoa. In the photos, I am using red quinoa from NOW Foods – I like it because it has a bit more texture when cooked than white quinoa (and generally takes about 5 extra minutes on the stove), but you can substitute white if that’s all you have on hand.
To that, I add mashed sweet potato – I use the microwave to make this step quicker than roasting – and quick sautéed onion with chili powder, cumin, and garlic. Whisk everything together with eggs and sunflower seeds, and form them for baking!
- 1 large sweet potato (about 1 cup cooked)
- 1 cup red quinoa, dry (about 2 and ½ cups cooked)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 medium yellow onion (about 1 cup minced)
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- 2 large eggs
- ⅓ cup raw sunflower seeds
- Poke your sweet potato with a fork to allow steam to escape, and microwave it for 4-6 minutes until easily pierced with a fork. Remove the skin and measure out 1 cup mashed sweet potato for the recipe.
- Rinse dry quinoa and combine it with 2 cups of water and ½ teaspoon salt in a pot. Bring it to a boil, and then cover the pot and reduce it to a low simmer for 20 minutes. Turn off the heat and cover the pot, allowing the quinoa to cook for a few more minutes. Fluff with a fork and allow it to cool. Measure out 2 and ½ cups of cooked quinoa to use for this recipe.
- Preheat the oven to 350 to bake the veggie burgers. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, or oil it generously.
- Mince yellow onion and measure out 1 cup. Add it to a pan with a dash of olive oil and the spices listed. Sauté 3-5 minutes on medium heat until translucent and fragrant.
- In a bowl, combine mashed sweet potato, cooked quinoa, sautéed onion, eggs and sunflower seeds. Combine the ingredients well.
- Using a ⅓ cup measure to guide shaping your veggie burgers, portion out burgers and flatten them slightly on the baking sheet. You should get around 9 veggie burgers of ⅓ of a cup size.
- Bake veggie burgers for 20 minutes on one side. Flip them carefully, using a flexible spatula to get under them, and bake them for 10 additional minutes on the other side.
This Sweet Potato Quinoa Veggie Burger has gotten rave reviews from my favorite vegetarians and meat-eaters alike, even in its previous iterations when I still hadn’t figured out how to get them to hold together perfectly.
The combo of chili powder, cumin, and garlic powder is unbeatable, and tastes great with Mexican-inspired salads, on top of toast with smashed avocado, or enjoyed plain from the fridge for a snack. I like to eat 1-2 per serving, depending on what else I’m having with my lunch or dinner.
Have you ever tried making your own veggie burgers? Have you tried red quinoa?
Marisa
dixya @ food, pleasure, and health says
you had with your title – two of my favorite things together!
Marisa says
Thanks so much, Dixya 🙂 I love them too!!
golda says
Very good, tasty and has a good texture. I made these yesterday and my family loved them! I like all your recipes btw 🙂
Marisa says
Hi Golda – Thank you so much for leaving your feedback, I love hearing from readers! Glad to hear they were tasty and that your family enjoyed them!
Jessica says
I made this for dinner last night and it turned out great! The burgers had a lovely texture.
Marisa says
Hi Jessica, thanks for your feedback! I love hearing that they worked out well for you. Glad you enjoyed the recipe!